Trust me – I’ve been on both sides. I was an unbeliever and now I’m a believer. Life was much harder when I was an unbeliever.

I know what you’re going to say – hard NOT to be a Christian? Who’s ISIS mass-murdering? CHRISTIANS! So being a Christian is probably harder than not being a Christian, right?

Wrong.

Yes, ISIS is targeting Christians – but they’re also targeting all other ‘infidels’. Unless you’re a Muslim, they’ll try to kill you sooner or later.

But most unbelievers think that if they convert they’ll have to give up a lot – fun, sex, prosperity. In sum, they’ll have to start behaving and that’s a problem.

I’m going to give you TWO reasons why NOT being a Christian is a problem.

The first reason is SLAVERY​

Unbelievers are slaves – slaves to whatever it is they worship. Some worship money, some worship sex, some worship themselves. In my case, it was money. I’m an options trader and an Investor – I’ve been in Finance for 17 years. And while I’m very successful at what I do, the truth is I’m not taking one cent with me when I die.

The perspective of an unbeliever is short term – they want as much money (or sex, or pleasure, or fun, or drugs, or alcohol, or work!) as they can in THIS life. Because it’s THIS life the only one that the unbeliever has.

But when you convert and look at your life from God’s perspective, everything changes. Not that you don’t have fun, or sex or alcohol or money. No. You still have all of that – but you FREE YOURSELF from all of these things because your perspective changes.

You will be blessed, like I am, with a family and money and friends – but quite frankly, other than your family and friends, the rest of whatever it is you’re a slave to, you will not take to heaven with you. Only people will go to heaven. Not your work, or your career or your money. Just people.

So the best you can do in THIS life is to prepare for your NEXT life. You have to change your perspective so that you free yourself from the earthly idols that you have and live a joyful life now while you wait for God to take you home. Non-believers are slaves to whatever they put at the top of their priorities. And when they don't get enough of what they want, they suffer. They want more and more and more of the object of their desires - it's never enough and so they're never truly joyful. They may be happy for a while, but they don't have JOY in their lives.

We, believers, put God at the top of our priorities and everything falls into place. Joy is guaranteed.​Slavery to your vices is the first reason why NOT being a Christian is more difficult than being a Christian.

The second reason is PROBLEMS.​

You see, whether or not you’re a Christian, YOU WILL DEFINITELY FACE PROBLEMS IN THIS LIFE. All of us do. When unbelievers face big problems, they typically turn to desperation, depression, alcoholism, drugs, etc. Whether those problems are health issues or money issues or relationship issues, the unbeliever finds himself solving the problem ALONE. And if the problem is too big, he might sink into desperation – some of them even commit suicide.

Being a Christian is no guarantee that you won’t have problems – we are, after all, the top targets for ISIS. But we face issues differently. We know God is in control. Problems, we know, are there to make us stronger. They’re there to teach us something. They’re there for a reason. They're no fun, of course. But we understand there is a PURPOSE for them. And if our enemy is ISIS, we know that ultimately God will deliver us – because we have the long term perspective. We’re saved and we’ll meet the Lord face to face one day. We have the PROMISE of SALVATION.

We deal with our problems differently – sure, we may fall into depression as well, and we may feel sorry for ourselves from time to time. But ultimately, we get out of depression much faster than a non-believer because we TRUST GOD.

It’s hard NOT to be a Christian because unbelievers are slaves to their idols and because when facing problems, they’re more likely to fall into some sort of addiction.

It’d be so much better for unbelievers to understand what they’re missing out on is, really, the GOODNESS OF GOD.

The long term PERSPECTIVE that frees us from slavery and GOD’S PROMISE OF DELIVERANCE makes being a Christian so much easier...

Psalm 46: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.